George Edward Cumby (born July 5, 1956) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for eight seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) during the 1980s. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

, thrice earning All-American honors, including a unanimous selection in 1979. A first-round pick in the

1980 NFL Draft The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York She ...

, Cumby played professionally for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

of the NFL. He was an athletic director and head football coach for

Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School is a parochial Catholic high school and middle school in Tyler, Texas, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler. Background The school was established in 1958 and is named for ...

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

. In 2016, he served as director of recruitment at Jacksonville College (TX). Cumby has coached college football at Texas College, and Tyler Junior College. He has coached at his alma mater Tyler- Bishop T.K . Gorman for two stints and at All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler. Ordained to preach several years ago in Houston, Cumby is currently the pastor of Noonday Methodist Church, 17320 state Hwy 155, Flint, Tx.

Early years

Cumby is African-American. He was born in

LaRue, Texas LaRue (sometimes seen or written as Larue) is an unincorporated community located in Henderson County, Texas, United States. At the time of the 2000 census the population was estimated at 160. Overview The La Poynor Independent School District s ...

. He graduated from

in 1975.

College career

He attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played for the

Oklahoma Sooners football The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma (variously "Oklahoma" or "OU"). The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (forme ...

team from 1976 to 1979. He was a three-time first-team All-American (

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

), being a consensus first-team selection in 1979. With a combination of speed and strength, he is considered one of the top defensive players of all time at Oklahoma. He was also named Defensive Newcomer of the Year and Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year twice—in 1978 and 1979. Cumby was described by then-head coach

Barry Switzer Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football Le ...

as "the only person I know who could go one-on-one with

Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955), nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football player who played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. Kn ...

and knock him backwards." He finished his career at Oklahoma with 405 career tackles, fifth on the all-time list.

Professional career

Cumby was taken in the first round by the Green Bay Packers in the 1980 NFL Draft as the 26th overall pick. He started two games as a rookie and moved into the full-time starting position in 1981 when he intercepted a career-high three passes and in 1982 Cumby was a Second-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

selection. He remained a starter though 1984 and was then relegated to backup duty in 1985.Pro Football Reference.com
/ref> In the 1985 season, Cumby gained national attention in a negative way. When rookie defensive tackle

William Perry William Perry may refer to: Business * William Perry (Queensland businessman) (1835–1891), businessman and politician in Queensland, Australia * William H. Perry (businessman) (1832–1906), American businessman and entrepreneur Politics and ...

was put in the offensive lineup for the Chicago Bears, it was Cumby who was twice "flattened" by Perry on lead blocks for

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...

. Later in that season, Cumby was beaten on a short pass route by Perry that the "Fridge" carried into the end zone, again an embarrassment for Cumby. Cumby was cut by the Packers the following preseason on August 18, 1986, and subsequently signed by the

. Cumby was a starter in 8 of the 11 games he played in 1986. He played one game for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1987 when he was signed to bolster an injury-weakened linebacking corps. Worked for Sports World ministries from 1987 to 1989, traveling around the United States speaking to schools, churches and corporations. Cumby was ordained and licensed to preach in 1999. Cumby served as a leader of Fellowship of Christian athletes for seven years, from 1999 to 2006, primarily in the Houston area. In 2001, Cumby started his first church, called Family Of Faith Worship Center in Houston and stayed until 2006. Cumby returned to East Texas, as an assistant pastor in Winona, with Higher Hope Fellowship church, serving there as an assistant pastor for the next seven years. Ordained to preach several years ago in Houston, Cumby is currently the pastor of Noonday Methodist Church, 17320 state Hwy 155, Flint, Tx.

Coaching career

After his NFL career, Cumby was the athletic director and coach at his high school alma mater, Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School, for the 2006 school year, and was recently the linebackers coach at

Tyler Junior College Tyler Junior College (TJC) is a public community college in Tyler, Texas. It is one of the largest community colleges in Texas, with an enrollment of more than 12,500 credit students each year with an additional 20,000 continuing education enroll ...

. He was the head football coach at

Texas College Texas College is a private, historically black Christian Methodist Episcopal college in Tyler, Texas. It is affiliated with the United Negro College Fund. It was founded in 1894 by a group of ministers affiliated with the Christian Methodist Epi ...

for three seasons until August 2014.Texas College Hires George Cumby
/ref> He also coaches at All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler, Texas. Later returned to coach at Bishop T.K. Gorman in 2021–22.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cumby, George 1956 births Living people American football linebackers Buffalo Bills players Green Bay Packers players Oklahoma Sooners football players Philadelphia Eagles players Texas College Steers football coaches High school football coaches in Texas Junior college football coaches in the United States Tyler Junior College alumni All-American college football players People from Henderson County, Texas Players of American football from Tyler, Texas African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople